Motion-figure.



lPatented Feb. 20, 1917.

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MOTION FIGURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30, 1916.

Patented FGI). 20, 1917.

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W. STEPHENS.

MOTION FIGURE.

APPLlcArloN man MAR. 30, 1916.

Patented Feb. 20, 1917.

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MoTioN-FIGURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ser. 2o, ier?.

Appli-cation led March 30, 1916. Serial No. 87,834.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM STEPHENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Liverpool, in the county of Columbiana and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motion-Figures; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improved arrangement of motion gures and has for its object to render a mechanical reproduction of the Lords Last Supper vattended by Christ and His twelve apostles.

' With this general object in view, the invention resides in certain novel features of construction and in unique combinations of parts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which constitute a part of this application and in which:

Figures 1, 1a and lb represent a top plan view of the improved mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of the bust herein referred to by the letter A', and parts in rear of this bust;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear elevation of the mechanism used in conjunction with the busts C, A and A2;

Figs. t and 5 are vertical transverse'sections taken respectively on the planes indicated by the lines 4 4: and 5- -5 of Fig. la;

Fig. 6 is a detail horizontal section on the plane of the line 6 6 of Fig. v5;

Fig. 7 is a detail showing the .mannerin which vertical movement is imparted to the arm moving bars from the horizontally 'reciprocated operating bars;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of one of said operating bars and one of the supports thereof. A

In specifically describing the construction shown in the drawings above briefly described, similar characters will be placed on corresponding parts Vthroughout the several views and reference' willv be'herein made to thenumerous elements by their respective indices. To' this end, the numeral l represents a horizontal base which will preferably though not necessarily be constructed of a number of sections detachably secured together, said baseV being elongated to extend beneath one side of a table 'I (see Figs. 4 and 5) `and having laterally extending portions la at its ends to extend below the ends of the table. v

Supported on the base 1 and the exten*- slons ll thereof, are a number offiigures representing Christ and His twelve apostles Y rIhe bust A is disposed to the right of the bust C and is distinguished from the busts of the other apostles since it will be necessary hereinafter to refer specifically to said bust A.

It is my intention to impart to the several figures numerous life-like motions. All of the figures with the exception of that indicated at A are adapted to turn their heads from side to side at predetermined intervals, and to bow as if in prayer at the will of the operator. The head of thebust A has no movement other than thatof bowing and this'igure is rigidly mounted so that it may not move forwardly. It, however, possesses lonemovement,rcommon to the other busts, that is the arms will be raised and lowered as if in the act of eating. In order to impart thel numerous movements above referred to to the several characters, the construction now to be described in detail is used.

All ofthe busts with the exception of A are hinged to the base of the machine, the weight of said busts normally serving to hold them in upright positions since the hinges are adjacent the `front sides of the busts as shown" clearly in Figs. l and 5. When, however, it is desired that the figures should bow, they may be rocked around their hinges by any suitable means. Preferably, however, the operator of the machine will tilt them forwardly by the use of a suitable pole or rod in his possession, it being of course understood that said operator remains behind a screen which will be positioned in rear of the numerous characters. f

' The arms 3 of all of the figures are secured at their upper ends to shafts 4 mounted on the latter, such shafts being free to turn within their bearings, whereby if movement be imparted'to one arm of any o arms may be accomplished in any one of a number of ways, but links 5 are preferably pivoted to the elbows of said arms at one end, said links inclining downwardly and rearwardly from said elbows as shown most clearly in Fig. 4 and being pivoted to the upper ends of vertically movable rack bars 6, whereby as the rear ends of the links 5 are raised and lowered by the ascent and descent of the bars 6, the front ends of said links and the arms 3 connected therewith will be moved forwardly and rearwardly, thus exerting an up anddown movement to the hands 7.

The rack bars 6 mesh with pinions 8 mounted on shafts 9, which latter are carried by appropriate supports 10 rising from the base of the machine, said shafts 9 also having thereon additional pinions 11 which mesh with rack bars 12 secured to a plurality of horizontal reciprocating operating bars 13 which will be mounted on appropriate roller bearings such as those indicated at 141 in the drawings, said bars 13 being preferably reciprocatedby cranks 15 driven at predetermined speeds from a motor or engine 16, said cranks being connected with the bars 13 by rods 17 (see Fig. 1).

Since two of the operating bars 13 necessarily extend above the extensions 11 of the base 1, cams 18 will be carried by the oppo site ends of one of the bars above the main portion of the base, said cams serving to transmit power in right angular directions as will be readily understood. Preferably, the cams 18 will only move the bars 13 operated thereby in one direction, and said bars will beV returned by springs 19 (see Figs. 1 and'lb). Additional springs 20 will rpreferably be provided to prevent lost motion between the bars 13 and their driving connections, said springs being secured at one end to the bars in question and at their other ends to any fixed part such as the base of the machine. Thus, they exert their ten sion to retain all moving parts of the operating connections in tight contact with each other and thereby prevent rattling and vibration to a noticeable extent.

Ihe heads 21 of all of the busts are mounted on springs 22 in order that they may move more naturally than otherwise, and all of these springs with the exception of that of the bust A are carried by the upper ends of shafts 23, the latter being adapted to be rocked by reciprocation of the bars 13. The connections between the shafts 23 and the bars 13 are the same for all figures except that shown at G, the turning means for this ,shaft consisting of a crank arm 241 extending from said shaft (see more par- -ticularly Figs. 2 and t), said arm 2a havingV a sliding connection with a plate 25 carried by the front end of an arm 26 which extends from one of the rack bars 13, whereby reciprocation of the latter will turn the head of the figure C, even though the latter be bent forwardly as if praying.

The connections between the bars 13 and the other shafts 23 consist of gear segments 27 secured on said shafts and meshing with rack bars 28 carried on the front ends of arms 2Ga secured to certain of the bars 13, said arms being identical with the arm 26 but necessarily shorter. This arrangement will of course turn the heads of the busts from side to side as long as the segments 27 are in mesh with. the rack bars 28, but when the busts are moved forwardly, this engagement will be bro-ken with the result that the heads will remain Vin the position to which they were last moved.

The spring 22 of the bust A is secured to a weighted upright shaft 30 carried by a. transverse rock shaft 31 having a rearwardlyl extending operating crank 32, the rear end of this crank being loosely connected with the upper end o-f an inclined link 33 whose lower end is similarly connected with one of the operating bars 13. Thus, as this bar is moved to and fro, the upper end of the link will raise and lower with the result that the head of the ligure A will be bowed and raised alternately at predetermined times.

|Ihe foregoing completes the general construction of the machine but I may explain that it is my intention that-it be so constructed as to allow it to be quickly assembled andV disassembled, in order that it may be easily transported from place to place and quickly Vset up for use. To this end, all joints to be severed will preferably be held together by thumb screws or by other appropriate means which may be readily released or applied as occasion may demand.

A machine constructed as shown and described, when properly operated, will give a striking reproduction of the Last Supper and will be particularly instructive for use in connection'with churches, Sunday schools, camp meetings and religious gatherings of all sorts.

In the foregoing, I have described a number of specific details of construction for accomplishing probably the best results, and in the accompanying drawings, such details have been described. I wish it understood, however, that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous changes may be made without sacrificing the main advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. In a mechanical reproduction of the class described, a figure representing a human being, said figure having a movable head, a reciprocating member in rear of said figure, said member having thereon rack teeth, a gear in mesh with said teeth, an upright rock shaft to which said gear is secured, and a yielding connection between said rock shaft and the aforesaid head.

2. In a mechanical reproduction of the class described, a figure representing a human being, said ligure having a movable arm, a reciprocating member in rear of said figure, said member having rack teeth, an upsta-nding rack bar, gear means for imparting vertical motion to said rack bar from the aforesaid reciprocating member, and an inclined link extending from said rack bar to the arm.

3. In a mechanical reproduction of the class described7 a series of figures, another ligure extending at an angle thereto, all of said figures representing human beings, reciprocating members in rear of both series for imparting lifelike movements thereto, means for reciprocating one member, and means for imparting the motion of said one member to the other.

4. In a mechanical reproduction of the class described, a series of figures, another figure extending at an angle thereto, all of said figures representing human beings, reciprocating members in rear of both series for imparting lifelike movements thereto, means for reciprocating one member, and a cam for transferring this movement to the other member.

5. A mechanical reproduction of the class described comprising a base, a plurality of figures hinged thereto for forward bowing, a plurality of horizontal reciprocating bars in rear of said figures, vertical rock shafts upon which the heads of the ligures are carried, an arm extending rearwardly from one of said rock shafts, a second arm secured to one of the reciprocating bars and having a slotted portion, the aforesaid arm having a projection received in the slots of this portion whereby as the last-1nentioned bar reciprocates, the head will be turned even though the figure be tilted forwardly, and separable connections between the other reciprocating bars and the other figures for turning the rock shafts of the latter until said ligures are tilted forwardly.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM STEPHENS.

Witnesses:

M. J. MGGARRY, JAS. F. MGGARRY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. 

